TrustRadius Insights for SmartDraw are summaries of user sentiment data from TrustRadius reviews and, when necessary, third party data sources.
Pros
Clean and professional org charts: Many users have been impressed with SmartDraw's ability to produce clean and professional-looking org charts. They appreciate that the charts can be easily shared or printed in a readable format, making it convenient for presentations or documentation purposes.
Easy import of data for org chart creation: Several reviewers have praised the ease of importing data into SmartDraw for creating org charts. This feature saves them time and effort, allowing them to quickly generate accurate and up-to-date charts.
Wide range of features and templates: SmartDraw offers a wide range of features for various purposes such as flowcharts, structural design, sharing and collaboration, wireframing, and customizable templates. Users find these features to be valuable as they cater to different needs and make diagramming tasks more efficient. Additionally, the provided templates serve as great starting points when users are unsure of how to begin their diagrams.
I tried to use the free trial on this software. As soon as I finished the drawing I couldn't export, share or print without purchasing. Furthermore I tried to sign in, figuring I could at least save it online to show my builder the plans and got notified that my trial had now expired and I had to pay if I wanted to access my plans again. So basically if I want to see my plans ever again that I spent the last 2 hours drawing, I have to pay smartdraw, and they only have an option to purchase annually. In my opinion, it's super underhanded and sneaky the way they try to get people to pay for their software, as a result, if ever I need any design software, I will most definitely NOT be using or recommending smartdraw. Thanks for wasting 2 hours of my life smartdraw.
Ever since we moved to virtual mode of communicating with colleagues and having meetings and discussions online, SmartDraw has made the entire process of explaining ideas, expressing and describing thoughts as easy as possibly it can be.
We use it for discussing application flows. We use it for High level designs. We are still discovering new use out of this awesome tool.
Pros
Flowcharts
Structural design
Sharing and Collaboration
Cons
The application is a little heavy on my system and takes some time to load
UI can be improved for touch screen interface.
Nothing i can think of! Its awesome
Likelihood to Recommend
As a developer i use it extensively for sharing ideas specially related for system design and application flows. Entire team finds it comfortable to use it, understand it and make changes swiftly. We use it for High Level System design.
While discussing the only missing thing we find about it is the integration of an ide for Low Level Design but in my opinion this tool isn't made for that purpose.
Smart Draw is an amazing drawing tool. I use it for floor plans and room layouts. It has some unique objects that are not in Visio. We have also used it for network diagrams. It’s very easy to use, and the customer service is excellent.
Pros
Draws layouts and diagrams.
Easy to use.
Extensive pre built library of objects.
Cons
The licensing and installation could be a little more straightforward.
Likelihood to Recommend
Smart Draw is unique and especially great for drawing floor plans. It also works well for network diagrams since it has a lot of built in network objects.
Charts! Charts! And more CHARTS! SmartDraw ROCKS when it comes to making org charts, flow charts, seating charts, and charts of responsibility to name a few. SmartDraw is a HUGE timesaver when creating expansive charts and a truly modern alternative to the traditional tools offered by Microsoft Office tools that are often times too limited.
Pros
Charts of all kinds
Wire Framing
Easily customizable templates
Cons
A month-to-month plan would be ideal for users that don't have a need to create many projects
The sidebar navigation can be a little confusing with all of the tools listed.
Offering customizable plans with only the feature you need would simplify navigation
Likelihood to Recommend
After becoming frustrated with the traditional tools that Microsoft offers and not being able to create expansive org charts I [accidentally] stumbled across SmartDraw. It saves me a ton of time. The interface itself is very similar to Microsoft tools so the learning curve was minimal allowing me to jump right into my first project.
I use it to design building and office floorplans and fire evacuation diagrams. I create emergency operations plans for businesses and religious organizations that need help with their security and emergency planning, and SmartDraw enables me to quickly and easily create diagrams and evacuation plans.
Pros
Create diagrams.
Convert diagrams to other formats like PDF and JPEGS.
Stores your designs in the cloud.
Cons
The autosave function does not always save your changes.
When creating diagrams and linking shapes together, they do not always stay linked.
Not enough customizations and example shapes and objects.
Likelihood to Recommend
I found it easier than other programs to make drawings and consider a decent replacement for Visio if needing to make flowcharts.
SmartDraw is just my department. We use primarily for organization charts online version.
Pros
Use on any device
User-friendly
Lots of uses
Affordable
Cons
Better training on the product
Likelihood to Recommend
SmartDraw is excellent for visuals. Easy to update organization charts. I know it has a lot of different uses that I’m unfamiliar with. They have a project management piece, and I would think that isn’t the best platform to use this for.
I use SmartDraw as the office manager to create floor plans of the office space. As businesses are ever changing, it is crucial to have up-to-date information.
Pros
Allows you to create your office space in a professional manner.
It looks like a pro did it!
Cons
Updates with more graphics.
Have an online download of the software.
Likelihood to Recommend
SmartDraw is well suited for office seating charts and redesign of office space.
This is currently used by the HR dept for organizational charts and flowcharts, although its capabilities are endless if you want to take the time to learn the software. it is much more intuitive than using Excel when creating flowcharts and org charts and can be exported to a PDF or Word document.
Pros
Ability to quickly and efficiently create flowcharts and org charts that are pleasing to the eye.
Cloud document storage always a plus. Can access work in progress anywhere.
Ability to export in multiple formats to fit your needs.
Cons
The software seems quite sophisticated. If you are looking to do something a bit more intricate, like a floor plan, you need to do some of their training.
Training options are a bit rough, they will offer free live training if you have more than 5 people on the training. Doesn't work well for a small company
Likelihood to Recommend
Great for someone with the time (or desire) to learn to use it to its full capability. A large company with manufacturing processes looking to implement lean practices would benefit greatly from this program.
We purchased SmartDraw to simplify the creation, editing & sharing of org charts for Caravan Health. As a start-up company, we had a limited budget for such technology, but were growing so quickly that two years ago we realized attempting to manage org charts using Word, Excel or Powerpoint was far-too cumbersome. The product we purchased at the time (Lucidchart) was inexpensive and was represented as simple to use and easy to share with others; sadly, in our experience both representations did not pan out. Sharing an org chart file presented many challenges for us when the CEO, COO, CFO or myself were on the road and attempting to access using laptops or iPads... and creating a printable version which was actually readable proved impossible. This created significant frustration at many levels, from managers to the executive team to our Board, as the perception created was one of inefficiency (or inability) within the HR team. Escalations to the provider proved useless, as the only means of communication was via email (no Account Manager to be able to reach out to, no phone number), and when we would receive a response, the most-common direction was provided by pointing us to an FAQ on their web site (rather than responding to and providing a resolution for our specific issues). Once the frustration finally boiled over and we started searching for an alternative solution, SmartDraw was a name I heard from several other HR leaders in my network, so we requested a demo of their product. The demo revealed a product which appeared to be intuitive and provided both a desktop and cloud-based version... both of which were important to us in our use. Implementation and uptake was quick and easy, which were also critical success factors for us, given our rapid growth and limited amount of time many leaders were willing to devote to something most felt should be as "simple" as org chart management.
Pros
Impressed with SmartDraw's ability to produce a clean & professional looking org chart... one which can be shared with a link or printed out in a format readable by all parties.
We like that we are able to easily import data for org chart creation. Once the data is there, we can the easily place additional positions on an org chart with shapes automatically positioned and connected.
Cons
It would be great if there was an ability to customize some of the functions in the program, so that we have everything as integrated as possible.
Since we still sometimes receive draft versions of new org structures from department leaders in Powerpoint, I with there was an export option to better-enable file-sharing.
At first, it seems to take users a bit to adjust to zooming in/out in the program, which can be frustrating.
Likelihood to Recommend
I believe SmartDraw is a great tool for small- to mid-sized organizations for simplifying the production and management of org charts. We've also had the PMO experiment with the use of some of their flow charts as well.
If an organization has an HCM with the capability of producing (good!) org charts, that is likely the best option... but many that I have used in my 30-year HR career don't. So there is definitely a need for SmartDraw in the market!
Currently, SmartDraw is used by various members of our organization in order to create dynamic process and organizational charts for both our clients as well as for internal use.
Pros
SmartDraw is great at visualizing process driven charts and models. They are simple, and somewhat understandable.
Cons
SmartDraw can still be a bit slow at times. While the ability to create complex charts and and figures that have multiple connecting (and intersecting) lines has improved, there are still some instances where SmartDraw can improve in (i.e.- sometimes I'm forced to freeze lines that I don't want a newly created line to automatically connect to).
Restructuring the ribbon to be more user friendly and intuitive could also go a long way. I am not sure why text alignment is all the way to the right of the ribbon on the user interface. It is nearly non-existent when I minimize my window. To me, the functionality in the Design ribbon does not make sense (only because I use PowerPoint and Word on a daily basis). Design is more content creation and editing, sort of like the functionality in the Home ribbon.
Creating additional right mouse click shortcut options would also save lots of time. I don't want to have to go to the ribbon every time I need to group or ungroup different sets.
Printing and properly adjusting printing is a nightmare. It is not intuitive, manually adjusting only complicates things, and there aren't enough options that allow for properly adjusting your window for printing. Printing functionality is too complex and a real deterrent when attempting to share content with clients.
Likelihood to Recommend
SmartDraw is most relevant when creating organizational structure charts or chain of command content. I wouldn't use it to analyze data or share content with someone who doesn't already have SmartDraw.
VU
Verified User
Analyst in Professional Services (11-50 employees)
